Search Blog Content

Friday, June 25, 2010

Stressed From Within


Is stress always caused by external factors? Actually, no, even though this is what most people think. Friends, work, or a turbulent love life may be things that people blame for their stress; however, your own cause of stress may come from within you. Stress can be damaging to your health. Using a natural treatment for stress relief can be the best method for feeling better.
Causes of Stress
If the stress you are feeling is not relieved by such common methods as talking with friends, exercising, or settling into a hot bath, it may build up inside you, and you will experience pressure. If you allow all this stress to build up inside you, it can lead to chemical imbalances in the brain and overreactions in the brain's alarm center. When this happens, one will be constantly hyperaroused or anxious. Frequent feelings of anxiety are indications from your body that it needs more down time to restore balance. Everyone experiences stressful situations; this key is to learn how to not let the stress build up inside you.
Stress Treatment
Taking a few pills is not all there is to stress treatment. Whether you know the cause of your stress or not, there are natural treatments that can help you. The following contains some information about natural stress treatment methods.
Natural Stress Treatment
Getting exercise is very important in controlling stress and is a type of natural stress treatment(http://www.mitamins.com/disease/Stress.html). Periodic breaks from work area also important. Ten-minute breaks for every 50 minutes of working time can help to reduce stress, and can actually make you work more productively than if you hadn't taken any breaks. While you are taking a break, you can do some deep breathing. Push out your abdomen as you inhale slowly, and allow the stomach protrusion to return to normal as you exhale slowly. Each exhalation should last twice as long as each inhalation for maximum oxygenation benefits. With natural treatment, you can relieve stress eventually.
Exercise and Stress
Exercise is important in the natural treatment of stress(http://www.mitamins.com/disease/Stress.html) because physical activity is necessary to remove waste products from the body. These waste products include lactic and uric acids, which need to be removed from the muscles and nervous system. If there is too much of these acids in your system, you may feel nervous or edgy. Exercise, either mild or moderate, can both prevent and reduce anxiety for up to two hours. At least 10 to 15 minutes of exercise in the mornings and afternoons is recommended. An ideal way of reducing inner stress is to combine a brisk walk with some deep breathing.
Natural Stress Treatment - Caffeine and Sleep
What you consume is also key to the stress you might feel. If you are experiencing excess stress(http://www.mitamins.com/disease/Stress.html), you should reduce your intake of caffeine. When caffeine is consumed in small, irregular doses, it can be medicinal as it increases bile flow, which stimulates the gall bladder and reduced cholesterol. But if taken regularly, caffeine can negatively affect a number of body systems which are responsible for dealing with stress. Besides reducing caffeine, you should try to sleep well. With irregular sleep patterns and poor quality sleep, your body is less able to respond to stress. For this reason it is good to have a regular bedtime, even on weekends. Three hours before bedtime, a hot bath or brisk walk may help relax you. Naps during the day, or eating heavy meals or consuming alcohol in the evening are not recommended.
Natural Stress Treatments
The following herbs should be taken daily for three months, with a two-week break after. This will help minimize the potential for adverse affects or psychological dependence on the herbs. B vitamins- in particular, B-6 and B-12, help maintain a healthy nervous system which regulates the body's responses to stress. These vitamins work best when taken with othersFind Article, so you should accompany them with a multivitamin mineral supplement twice a day. Kava is a natural ingredient which is approved as an anxiety and insomnia treatment in many European countries. It helps reduce chronic insomnia or anxiety without the drowsy or "fuzzy" side effects of other medications.

Article Tags: /str Html
Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Author Bio:
Mitamins team
bd@mitamins.com
Detoxification - Find Authoritative Natural Treatment Information, Plus Vitamins and Nutritional Supplements for Supporting Stress treatment, Symptoms, Causes.
Natural Stress Treatment(http://www.mitamins.com/disease/Stress.html)

What is Stress


This is an article about stress. It's not easy to defind stress. We think we all have experienced stress at some point in our life so the definition for stress should be obvious. Usually we talk about stress when we mean a feeling of mental overload which we have experienced.
It's not easy to defind stress. We think we all have experienced stress at some point in our life so the definition for stress should be obvious. Usually we talk about stress when we mean a feeling of mental overload which we have experienced.
There are many definitions for stress - depending on the field of science of the researchers.
Stress is a feeling which is caused by events or circumstances that makes us feel angry, frustrated, unhappy or excited. Stress is also defined as a feeling or experience where individual's needs, goals and abilities are not in balance and there is a conflict between these elements.
Stress has physical and emotional effects on us. Stress creates positive or negative feelings.
Positive stress can make us action - to thrive to complete a work or a project. Negative stress can make us feel anger, depression and rejection. There feelings can also result in physical health problems such as high blood pressure, insomnia or heart disesase.
Stress can also make changes in our behaviour - usually these changes in our behaviour make us feel even more stressed. For example, we start to consume more alcohol, we increase smoking, we start to leave out hobbies etcFeature Articles, we skip physical work out sessions etc.
Positive stress adds excitement to our life and we all thrive under a certain amount of stress. Insufficient stress can make us feel deperessed and bored while excessive stress can make us feel overwhelmed. We need to find the optimal level of stress which motivates us but does not make us feel overwhelmed.
So how can we tell what is the optimal level of stress which we can take? We are all individual human beings and we all have our unique requirements. So there is no single level of stress which is optimal for all of us. We all tolerate different amounts of stress. Our optimal stress level also changes with our ages.
People can be devided into three different groups according to how they react to stress.
Some people react to stress mentally; they experience for example insomnia and fatigue which are symptoms of stress. Usually the lifestyle for these people weakens but these people can recognize stress and understand the reasons for these mental symptoms.
Some of us react to stress physically - these people experience for example physical pain. It's not easy to recognise the relation between stress and the physical symptoms. Usually the physical symptom is treated by healthcare specialist but the reason for the symptom remains untreated.
Some people don't react to stress in any specific way. Their ability to perform may weaken a little but these people don't experience any physical or mental symptoms of stress.
We all tolerate different amount of stress. It's important we find our individual level of stress which makes us feel motivated - not overwhelmed.
Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

This article by Annukka Huotari is freely available for use on websites or Ezines as long as it is used in its entirety. For more health related information, please vist my sites Safe Nutritional Supplementation and Vitallifestore.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Stress In Women: Coping With Job Stress And Household Duties!



Two women are close friends. One has the job; the other is the homemaker. The former complains about the job stress. The later has the stress that her friend has the job and she does not have a job! The first type is the job stress and the other type is job-related stress.
A woman is affected physically as well as emotionally in every type of job. For, mostly it is the case of dual responsibility of office job and household responsibilities for her.
Even if she engages domestic aids and attendants, there is no complete escape from the household responsibilities for her. A woman is always more attached to her house emotionally. Therefore the level of stress will be more if the hours of work are irregular and unpredictable. Shift duties also add to the woes of woman. If she is a part-time worker she would always compare herself with full time colleagues and their emoluments. Such petty jealousies also add to their stress.
The greatest factor that adds to stress in woman in relation to her job is the unresponsive management and its lack of support to her normal expectations as an employee. In all work places the full time workers are more respected. The facilities given to them are more and this creates a division and friction amongst the various workers.
There is nothing to boost their morale they feel. An undercurrent of unhappiness always flows within them. This affects their performance and they develop a feeling within themselves, “why should I work more than this?” Work is not worship to them; they just carry on for the sake of carrying on.
Women are more sensitive as compared to men. A particular stress thus affects them more than the men. To a given situation, both will react in a different manner. The pivotal point of men’s life is the job, for women it is always home and family. Many times she has to pass through the periods of double stress- stress in the family and stress in the job environment.
Another job-related stress is the environment in which she works. Sexual harassment to women in their job places is the most talked about and discussed topic of late. The issue is mainly individual with legal implications. It concerns the woman in particular, not the women in general!

Stress in Children: Help Your Child Overcome Stress and Enjoy Their Childhood



Childhood should not be stressful but in today’s culture, stress in children is becoming more and more frequent. With the pressures of school, sports, and all that the media throws at our children, it’s pretty clear how a child can quickly feel overwhelmed!
As parents, we need to be aware of what our children are feeling. We need to be connected and spend enough time with our child in order to see the signs of stress in our kids. If you believe your child could be experiencing stress, consider the following:
What are some sources of stress in children?
Changes and situations in family dynamics, school, friends, an overabundance of activities, not enough down-time or creative outlets, too much TV, social pressures, low self-esteem, separation from parents, or other sources unique to your child.
What are some symptoms of stress in children?
While it may be difficult to recognize symptoms of stress in children, below are some symptoms that may alert you to stress: mood swings, sleep patterns changes, acting out, bedwetting, frequent stomachaches and headaches, trouble concentrating, incomplete schoolwork, a change in academic performance, and/or withdrawing or isolating oneself. Some children may start lying, defying authority, or bullying other children while others may suffer from nightmares, clinginess to their parents, or overreacting to what are simply small problems. Very young children may begin new habits such as hair twirling, picking their nose, sucking their thumb, or other regressive behaviors.
Helping to Reduce Stress in Children
Stress Reduction Tip #1: To start, proper nutrition and enough sleep must be ensured. The child will be unable to handle life’s daily stresses if they do not have enough sleep or proper nutrients.
Stress Reduction Tip #2: Spending time with your child without distractions can help your child to open up and discuss what could be bothering them.
Stress Reduction Tip #3: Be willing to listen to your child’s fears and offer loving and gentle guidance.
Stress Reduction Tip #4: Exercise can help burn off extra steam, so get your child moving. Take a walk together or play an active game to help encourage exercise and provide an environment where your child can feel secure enough to open-up to you.
Stress Reduction Tip #5: Encouraging your child to keep a journal to jot down their thoughts and feelings can help the child experiencing stress to become aware of what they’re feeling and give them another outlet.
Stress Reduction Tip #6: If you know of a potentially stressful situation coming up like a doctor’s appointment, give your child plenty of notice so it’s not sprung on them. Be careful, though, of too much information as it can actually cause more stress. Be “matter of fact” and be available if your child needs to discuss what they are fearing.
Stress Reduction Tip #7: Let your child know that some level of stress is normal. It’s OK to feel anxious or stressed and that other people feel the same feelings, too.
With some gentle guidance and loving support, your child can get through their stressful situation. Parental support and love is vital to a child struggling.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Stress the Biggest Killer of Our Times and it's Causes



Suffering from stress can weaken our immune system and that can lead to a lot of health problems. Some of these problems can be of a psychological nature but a lot of them tend to be physical . Stress can lead to higher blood pressure, which can give us a lot of heart problems and as we all know heart disease is one of the biggest killers of our times.

Stress can be caused many factors such as our careers, unhappy married life, financial difficulties, the behavior of our kids, bereavement etc. We will examine some these causes a little more closely and try to discover how they can lead to stress.

As we all know we all have to go out to work to make a living and job stress can becaused by having higher expectations of our selves or having these placed on us by our colleagues or our bosses. Trying to achieve some things beyond our capabilities leads to a lot of disappointment and which can ultimately lead to stress. Working in cramped or untidy environments can also lead to stressful situations at the work place. Having an overpowering or overbearing boss can also lead to a frustrating work experience which can lead to job stress.

Stress can be caused by having a life partner that you no longer get on with and this can lead to a very unhappy home life and it can get so bad at times that you can not face going back to your house, because you know as soon as you enter the house, you are going to be greeted with abuse or a very cold welcome at the least and this can affect all areas of your life. Going through an acrimonious divorce can also give us a lot of stress. An unhappy home life can also derive from having rebellious children or setting goals beyond the capabilities of our kids and failure to achieve these goals can give both the parents and children sleepless nights and this can give all the parties concerned a lot of stress.

Stress can also be caused by having lost a dear one and coming to terms with a life without them. This sort of stress is called emotional stress and this can lead to a lot of health problems. Our brains are like electrical circuits and what can happen if we overload a circuit? Yes you guessed that right! You blow a fuse and this is exactly what happens when we overload our brains with too much emotional stress. we can have a breakdown, which could be psychological or physical.

And finally stress can be caused by having unmanageable debts as well. If you have more money going out of your bank account than you have coming in, this is a constant source of worry and pressure which ultimately leads to stress. Bills keep dropping through the letterbox and letters from your creditors are painful reminders of the dire consequences if your financial situation doesn't improve soon can give you sleepless nights, which can lead to unbearable stress.
Source: Free Articles
Nirmal Orakh is writer and a professional Driving Instructor. Stress being part of a Driving Instructors job, Nirmal has written many articles on the causes of stress and how best to deal with it.

Some Important Aspects of Self Esteem


By Darius Raeisi
When you think less about yourself it undermines your ability to do better things. It means you have self esteem issues. Many people in our world today have self esteem issues, which directly affects their behavior, how they think about the world, and especially about themselves. Having a good and high level of self esteem is very important in our lives. Your success and failure in life will depend on the level of self esteem you possess. Most importantly, almost every famous person, whom you see at the top today in all sectors of the world, have extremely high self esteem levels. Their high levels of self esteem they have did not just appear one day. In fact, the strong self-esteem was nurtured and fed, and their lives were made better by what they thought and how they behaved.
You can not just sit and wish for everything to be better. You must have an initiative, believe in that initiative, and move on with it. In this life, there are people who will always try to make you feel very stupid and useless, but this is where self esteem comes in. In cases like this, a person with a high self esteem hears all these bad and very painful things being said about him, but takes it as a reason to move on. On the other hand, a person with a low self esteem or no self esteem will just bear the hatred in his or her heart. They will have hatred for those people forever, which might also lead to very bad health conditions for themselves.
Success will come your way when you know what you are, what you want, where you want to be some day, and if you make adequate preparations to make sure you have a better life. Self esteem matters hugely because there are so many things that happen in our lives and we must know how to fight and keep our faith high. A person with high self esteem believes that he or she is the best no matter what anyone says. If you have a low or weak self esteem, you will be unfaithful to yourself, making your life a an unhappy one.
So, now it's your choice if you want to live with high self-esteem or if you wish to have a possibly meaningless life due to no self-esteem!
Darius has been writing online for a while now. He has a wide range of interests and topics that he likes to write about. You can check out some of his websites at http://www.tiltumbrella.net and http://www.automaticumbrella.org

Monday, June 14, 2010

Five Things You Must Consider When Overcoming Depression


By Norio Filiatrault
Have you ever suffered from depression? Is your family member or friend suffering from this condition?
Depression is a normal state for everyone. It is normal that we have our ups and downs in life, but when this persists for an unusually long time, it becomes problematic.
Now the question is how to get rid of it.
If you have depression, you know it's not a matter of just snapping out of it. It's much more complicated than that. One might say it is just an automatic feeling that come on. Another might say it is really just their nature and there is nothing they can do.
Depression is a habit that you created from many different factors and generally divided into two categories:
Body (Sensations, change in body functions) Mind (Thought patterns, beliefs, Imagination)
So now let's get into the:
Five Things You Must Consider When Overcoming Depression
Self Image
Attitude
Belief
Emotions
Habits
1. Self-image
Most of people with depression will have a poor self-image:
Do you think you are a person who is unworthy? Are you a loser? Do you believe you can't change? Are you a sad person by nature? Do you feel sorry for yourself?
These above ideas are really just ideas (mostly dragged on from the past) and they only serve your negative energy and strengthen it.
You must take note and write down what negative image you have about yourself and why you have them. Is it logical to think you are really that person? Are you being hard on yourself? Do you like to play victim? Is it scary to change your current situation?
These are all the questions you must ask yourself in order to identify your negative Self-images. Once you do this, you are more aware of your tendency and it will become easier later to alter your self-image to something better.
2. Attitude
How is your attitude in life? Is every situation working out the way you want it to? Do your actions bring you your desired outcomes or no? Are you repeating the same approach everyday and yet hoping for a change?
It's strange, but attitude is energy, and energy is contagious. You get what you emit. Changing attitude may be one of the hardest things to do, but just think this:
If you were the person or thing that is dealing with yourself, would you feel good? If your answer is no, then you're probably not doing the right thing. If you meet a person who is whining nonstop and feeling sorry for themselves, how would you feel? And especially if that person is by conventional standards comfortably living, than you may think he or she is self-centred. You may feel you are being neglected; and this is true. Lots of the negative attitude is really coming from the person being too self-conscious and thinking about themselves obsessively.
Try to treat every situation like the way you want to be treated. You will be amazed by the difference it will make on your days. After all, you create your own world right? Right!
3. Belief
Be careful of what you believe; this includes self-image and also anything other than yourself. when you ill-conceive something, you create a bad pattern or idea in your mind which can be a trigger for depression.
For example, in the case of human relationship, let's suppose your friend asked you " How much do you know about fashion?" One may think two possible ways:
"Oh is he asking me this question as a means of insult? Is my clothes really that bad today? Oh no..."
or,
"Nice, I love fashion and I'm gonna answer 'I know about fashion somewhat and I love fashion'"
Now this is just a rough example, but you get the picture. People with the former idea may be referred to as having Paranoia; a type of victimized thought at an extreme case.
This is very common in everyday life where people misinterpret comments or situations. Maybe the person asked this question because he wanted to become friends if both shared the same interest.
So be careful before jumping to conclusions. Take a step back and think logically. Do you really have to react in such way that is negative?
4. Emotions
This is probably where a lot of people get stuck. Human beings are bound by emotions. If we get compliments we feel good generally. If we are commented negatively we feel bad. With depression, this emotional response becomes mixed up. Even in good situations we may feel down. It is a habit that is formed over time.
So how do you overcome it?
It is hard no doubt, but you must challenge yourself. I would suggest you first work on your beliefs and self-image so you can think and act logically with ease. Then practice managing your emotions so your mind finally is able to connect to it and find the balance again. It took me a while to do this, but the only way to cure is by gaining experience and working on it from the conscious level and turn it into the subconscious level. Remember, the more good results you get, the more you will have confidence in all that you do.
5. Habits
This is just really to conclude the above mentioned four elements.
Self Image
Attitude
Belief
Emotions
These are all habits that were formed somehow at some point in your life (unless you have had it since you were born, in this case it's more of a genetic or brain damage problem. Consult your doctor)
Habits are very hard to change, but is worth working on in the long run. Make small goals for yourself everyday and work on them. Remember, it's baby steps that count!
Conclusion
Like all challenges in life, all of the mentioned ideas above will need effort put into them and measured constantly. It may be hard to imagine yourself getting out of the depressed state, but again that's where people get stuck. Of course it is not always easy days when working to improve yourself, but by succeeding( and you will by working on improving everyday) the pay off will be enormous.
Any ideas or comments? We'd love to hear them so please comment below. Also if you think someone you might know may benefit from this post, please let them know.
How To End Depression Team writes articles on how to change the mindset in order to effectively tackle depression and shares their expertise in order to make a difference in depression treatment.
For more info please visit the site: http://howtoenddepression.blogspot.com/

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Winning the Battle Against Major Depression


By Sean Young Q Mendez
Damaging feelings of unhappiness, worry and frustration are experienced by everybody alive. We feel disappointment right after a failure or sorrow after a separation or a loss.
Depression symptoms are a feeling that can occupy each one at some point in time. To be able to manage and overcome depressive disorders you will need to first recognize the causes of depression symptoms and overcome these unhealthy emotion or thoughts.
These damaging feelings are regular and do not affect significantly our ability to meet our daily obligations. You may even say that it is also useful to the extent that they help us to much better comprehend some of our weaknesses.
When the grief instead of decreasing by time it becomes much more intense and lasts much more than two weeks, and hinders the regular activities of our life such as work, diet, sleep and our close relations, then it is likely that we suffer from depressive disorders and we need the support of a specialist to deal with it.
Sorrow can train us so that we can face adversity that might occur later in life in a dynamic way. The self-knowledge arising from the bad experiences helps us to make the effort to change ourselves in order to avoid future damaging consequences of immature behavior.
The primary defining characteristic of depression symptoms is not the presence of negative feelings, but the intensity of the severity and the length of time involved.
To comprehend major depression all the much more, let us discover out the diverse symptoms that a person can experience when he or she has depressive disorders. Here are they:
1. Reduction of interest or pleasure in all or nearly all actions
2. Sometimes thoughts about death and suicide
3. Stress, anxiety, indecision
4. Loss of energy and exhaustion
5. A lot more or less appetite for food
6. Moodiness, for the most part of a day practically each day
7. Trends isolation, social withdrawal
8. Frustration, indifference
9. A lot more or much less sleep
10. Continuing grief
11. Loss of interest in the search for erotic partner or for sex.
12. Concerns and pessimism for the future.
13. Feelings of guilt
Learn where you can get help for depression and live a happy life! Visit www.curedepressionnatural.com

How to Get a Grip on Severe Anxiety Disorder Right Now


By Af Riaz
Severe anxiety disorder is an illness that encompasses a diverse range of pathological fears and anxiety. All of us suffer from stress at some point in our lives. It's inevitable. The majority of people handle this anxiety or will ride it out until things improve safe in the knowledge that it will. However, some people aren't as strong and can let these emotions get on top of them. For these people the feelings of anxiety are hard to shake and will end up taking over their lives and cause concern to their families.
This is not a disorder that happens to a minority of the population. Extensive medical studies have shown that up to 18% of the American population is impacted by one of the many forms of panic attacks (quite a few suffer from more than one form of the disorder). Of all the many forms of anxiety disorders, anxiety attacks and panic attacks are the most prevalent. They are even more common than alcoholism and depression so all sufferers can be rest assured there are many other people out there like them going through the same emotions.
The panic attack symptoms are many and varied but they will typically consist of four (or more) of the following signs/actions:
  • Fear of dying
  • Fear of loss of control or of going crazy
  • Nausea or stomach pains
  • Blank mind
  • Diarrhoea
  • Feeling the need to escape
  • Dizziness
  • Profuse sweating
  • Highly accelerated heart rate
  • Shortness of breath/suffocation
  • Sense of confusion
  • Dry mouth
  • Tightness or pain in the chest
  • Shaking/trembling
  • Tingling or numbness in the hands and feet
  • Hot flashes or chills
  • Feeling as though time is going by incredibly slowly
The symptoms of severe anxiety disorder aren't nice and for many sufferers the feelings and emotions can be so intense they actually feel as if they are going to have a heart attack and die. Probably the most frightening thing about the panic attacks that occur is that they can happen at any time, night or day. It can be totally random and can get triggered by (to the outside eye) the most meaningless of things. Phobias play a big part in severe anxiety disorder. It could be a fear of animals, confined spaces, flying or simply leaving the comfort of ones house. For those people that know what triggers their panic attacks, this is no consolation as although they know they are coming they feel helpless.
Anyone who can relate to these symptoms really needs to do something about it. There are many options in terms of treatments for anxiety and overcoming panic attacks. Arm yourself with information and the many resources available online and you can beat this problem. You can start by trying to learn some relaxation techniques and trying to lead a healthier lifestyle.
This will help to eliminate some of the negative feelings severe anxiety disorder can make you feel. At the moment it is controlling you, the aim is regain control, to start thinking positive thoughts and start living your life again. It's not easy but with a bit of willpower, mental toughness and trying to reinforce a more positive outlook on life you'll find overcoming panic attacks and ridding yourself of severe anxiety disorder will be like a new lease of life.
Stop giving in to negative thoughts and start overcoming panic attacks. We have all the information you need on our site to help you rid yourself of severe anxiety disorder including treatments for anxiety to start living your life once again.

Gain Control of Your Life


By Elliot Zovighian
There are more and more people who are feeling helpless everyday. They're feeling like life feeds them one misfortune after another and now they're at the breaking point. Every time they lift their heads above the surface, something drags them back down, and swallows them whole. If they could only tread water long enough to catch their breath; if they could only become buoyant without fear of sinking. They can. To make that happen you have to take it to life itself and dictate the life you want to have.
Every single person is given signs as to the path the universe has in store for us. It is up to them to take firm control of their lives to alter the path into the direction they want to go. One may sense tensions, but unless they take action to find out the cause of those circumstances and take positive steps to resolve those issues, the universal path with be dictating where they end up. Usually in a place they don't want to be.
You see it is our destiny to adapt and move forward. Everything in nature adapts and evolves, and so must we as humans, each on individual personal quest. When are confronted with situations that evoke pain, heartbreak and disappointment, it is an opportunity for a person to grow and learn. It is what the universe wants from us to do. When a person keeps going through the same problems, or is in a rut, it is because they haven't taken the appropriate action to improve their life and learn the spiritual lesson they need to rise to the next level and be happy.
All too often people unhappy in their lives will lash out at those around them and blame them for circumstances in their lives. Or get upset with people in whom they confide because they won't support their self destructive mindset. Being a friend to such a person means saying and doing things they may not like to help them move forward. We all must endure things we don't like to move forward sometimes. It's a fact of life and is unavoidable. But really one must take responsibility for themselves. Look inward instead of pointing the fingers at others. Don't worry about others. Let the focus be on those things that are necessary to achieve the goals that are desired.
To gain control of life one needs to accept responsibility. It means stopping the blame game in trying to justify negative outcomes and behaviour. No one is perfect. We all make mistakes, but we must accept out mistakes and learn from them. Every experience in life is an opportunity to become a better person. We get to our goals one step and one day at a time. By accepting that responsibility and putting into action those things you need to fulfill your goals, you'll have taken a swing at what life throws your way and taken a firm control of where you want to be.
Elliot Zovighian is the owner of EZLifestyles and is a personal coach, writer, speaker and father from Toronto Canada who is committed to helping those live easier, happier lives.
Elliot Zovighian is a life coach, speaker, author, blogger is the owner of EZ Lifestyles, a life coaching company from Toronto, Canada. His daily blog offers articles and advice on such subjects as life skills, work and career, relationships, parenting, featured videos and more. http://www.ezlifestyles.ca

Thursday, June 3, 2010

5 Tips to Get Rid of Your Negative Thoughts


By Trevor Johnson
Negative thoughts are natural. We all have them from time to time. But when they start to take over your life, you know that it's time to do something about them and stop thinking negative thoughts so often.
1. Catch your negative thoughts early
You probably know when you start to think something negative - you'll know the early warning signs. Nip that thought in the bud! Don't give it chance to breed and fester in your mind.
2. Mind your language
I don't mean the kind of language that you wouldn't hear on television before the watershed. Certain words are just automatically negative. "I could never do that", "There's no way..." and so on. You're thinking those words so swap them out for something more positive whenever you get the chance.
3. Turn off the news
News is almost always negative. Scandal and disaster sell. Happy stories don't get the ratings. Which means that the news is probably the most regular thing you're exposed to on a regular basis. Switch it off or change channel. And don't read the paper either, except maybe for the sports pages.
4. Wear a rubber band on your wrist
And flick it every time you catch yourself having negative thoughts. We react to pain, even small amounts like this. Over time, your body will start to associate negative thinking with pain and will begin to change how you phrase things in your mind.
5. Don't panic when you're not perfect
You likely won't be able to stop thinking negatively all the time. That's fine. Just aim to stop as much as possible - you'll find the quantity of positive thoughts increasing over time as a result of the other tips.
For more help to stop negative thoughts just click here.

Acceptance Vs Settling


By Terri Fox
Acceptance does not mean settling. We have to learn acceptance throughout our life. Sometimes we believe that we have to settle for something. It doesn't. In the world of bodybuilding, we have to accept what we have to work with (genetics). I am 5′3". I will never be taller. I accept that. I am a natural bodybuilder, so I have to accept the fact that I am limited in my supplementation. That is fine with me. I accept that at age 45 I recover at a slower rate than women half my age. What I don't have to accept is my body as it is today. I have the ability to change muscle mass and definition. That is something I can control. I can control it with the amount of weights that I lift, the contraction that I hold, the sets and reps I use and the food my body requires for change.
Before changes can be made, acceptance must be attained. Our minds have to fuse with our bodies. This does not mean acceptance of limitations, just acceptance of what we have to work with. As human beings we are constantly criticizing ourselves. We are our own worst enemies. I have heard so many times, "if only". If only what? Why waste valuable time thinking this way? We can't change genetics; we must work with genetics. Yes, it is challenging to say the least, but doesn't that make it more valuable in the end? Knowing that you have the ability to become a better you and that you alone hold the keys to that change, is the beginning. We don't have to settle for where we are in our lives at the moment. Settling happens when we decide not to make an effort. We settle for what we have and where we are. Acceptance helps move us in a direction to change. We accept a challenge. So get out of your own way; accept what you have to work with and begin building your foundation on that. Acceptance is your baseline. Everyone has to start somewhere. Accept your challenge to become a better you.
Terri Fox
Life Changes, be ready